Chis Haddock has lived in Ringgold his whole life, minus the years he attended school at the University of Georgia and at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
He's been practicing medicine for about 17 years, most recently at the Erlanger South Family Medicine in Ringgold. But as of Monday, Aug. 12, he's now a physician at the newly opened Erlanger Primary Care of Ringgold at 6984 Nashville St.
Working close to home has its benefits, said Haddock.
"My family has been in Catoosa County since the 1830s. I have deep roots here, and it's nice to work in the community I was raised in."
The facility on Nashville Street is actually three practices with different focuses: urgent care, physical therapy and primary care.
Haddock works in the primary care division and offers family medicine, accepting patients who are at least age 12. He said the practice focuses on everything from preventive medicine to injury treatment to chronic disease management.
Kevin Spiegel, president and CEO of Erlanger Health System, said the expansion is part of an initiative to bring local health care providers into communities rather than patients traveling for care.
"One of the things we've found through our strategic planning process is [our physicians] weren't providing [care] in the community that [patients] live," Spiegel said.
The primary care facility where Haddock works is attached to the brand-new Ringgold Express Care, one of five urgent care centers that Erlanger recently opened alongside one in Soddy-Daisy, two in Chattanooga and one in Hayesville, North Carolina. The express care facilities are open seven days a week, offering extended evening and weekend hours for both adults and children without the need for an appointment. The facilities are equipped to offer X-rays and prescription services, according to a release.
Haddock said it took him a few years to get used to treating people he's known for years, including Sunday school teachers and mentors.
"It's been a role reversal," he said, adding, "It's a wonderful thing for people to know they're being taken care of by one of their own."
In the future, Haddock said he plans to push for hiring more Catoosa County residents into the practice.
Email Sabrina Bodon at sbodon@timesfreepress.com.